No excuses: Redskins need a new nickname....

[KillerKat]

Hm.

I'm pretty sure a Cowboy is ok with being called a Cowboy. A Patriot....not even sure if we can pin down who a Patriot is anymore. A Buccaneer? Eh. Other than Skew I'm not sure we have too many Pirates around. I'm sure a Texan is cool with being called a Texan.

As I stated above, you gonna call a native american a Redskin?

He/she might be ok with throwing that term around with others in the community, but is he/she ok with it in general usage?

Maybe.

And maybe most Native Americans are ok with the team having the name. But if 10% of them think it is offensive, is that enough?

What is the critical mass for change and forward thinking?

This is a democracy. 91% of them have no problem. Get over it.

[Epistaxis]

Get over what?

I don't care one way or another, but I am willing to at least THINK that perhaps pissing off 9% of an already abused people group is worth considering ditching something as insignificant as a sports team name.

Because that, to me, is more important than some manufactured "history" of a football franchise. The proud tradition of pretending to be Indians and capering Chief Wahoos and getting drunk with "Redskin" written on our jerseys. lol

Because the history of the treatment of Native Americans is sickening, if you care to look at it.

Maybe some people should "get over" insensitivity and desperate clinging to the tradition of not giving a sh*t about people that look different than them. Even if it is only 9% of the group in question, because I'm sure their opinion of "It offends me" is less important than the 91% that say they don't care.

[Mr. Scot]

I'm not a big fan of the tyranny of the minority, honestly. If we start changing everything that offends somebody, you're going to lose a lot in the areas of art, entertainment, general society, etc. Yes, some things are blatant, but I generally believe the better way to take action is via the wallet, not the court.

There are waaaayyy bigger issues in race relations regarding American Indians (and various other races) than what we call a football team. If this is the biggest deal we have to talk about, we're not paying attention to those things.

I put this about on the level of the lady who was crusading for "women's rights" by protesting Augusta.

[Epistaxis]

Without question.

But the sad education record, incidence of substance abuse, and high rate of health care issues on the "Rez" doesn't resonate.

NFL football is on the public brain 24/7/365.

And when the nation's capital uses "Redskin" as a team name, what does it say?

Again, clearly a recent poll shows that the people in question don't care very much. Or perhaps they just don't think it is that big a deal.

Ok.

I just feel like it isn't something I would say to someone of that background. I don't think it is appropriate. So it seems like maybe an opportunity to educate people on maybe WHY small changes could be made, and then perhaps focus on what could be done to affect meaningful change for the lives of Native Americans could happen as a next step.

Symbolic gestures could be a start.

Washington, D.C. - The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has long condemned the use of sports team "mascots" that claim to portray Native Americans and Native cultures in a positive light. For more than four decades NCAI's member tribes have collectively gone on record strongly opposing the use of such mascots. That stance continues as the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board reached its historic decision in the longstanding case to cancel federal protection of the trademark name "Redskins." The case was originally filed in 1992 by seven prominent Native Americans against the Washington professional football organization. The petitioners hope that without federal government certification, the name will be dropped in favor of one that does not offend Native peoples.

"I felt very confident in the way that the tribal testimony was presented and I am very pleased with the decision," stated NCAI Executive Director JoAnn K. Chase. "Although this practice continues in a number of communities throughout the country, I hope that with this decision in our favor the Appeal Board will move America closer to a society free from publically condoned racism and discrimination."

"These mascots in no way honor Native Americans, they are an unnecessary element of today's society and represent the last vestiges of a time thought long past when such stereotypes were commonplace, " said Chase. "These mascots and team names serve to perpetuate racism and bigotry toward Native Americans, just as 'Sambo' served to perpetuate racism and bigotry toward the African American community. We hope other sports teams with similar mascots and team names recognize the merit of this important decision and respond accordingly."

http://www.ncai.org/ncai/resource/documents/governance/ncainews4.2.99.htm

[Mr. Scot]

Without question.

But the sad education record, incidence of substance abuse, and high rate of health care issues on the "Rez" doesn't resonate.

NFL football is on the public brain 24/7/365.

And when the nation's capital uses "Redskin" as a team name, what does it say?

Again, clearly a recent poll shows that the people in question don't care very much. Or perhaps they just don't think it is that big a deal.

Ok.

I just feel like it isn't something I would say to someone of that background. I don't think it is appropriate. So it seems like maybe an opportunity to educate people on maybe WHY small changes could be made, and then perhaps focus on what could be done to affect meaningful change for the lives of Native Americans could happen as a next step.

Symbolic gestures could be a start.

Maybe, but all too often "symbolic gestures" become an end in themselves. Everyone feels better because we did something nice, so the real problems remain unaddressed.

If the majority don't care, I can't really see making a big deal of it. There's already enough bending and shaping going on in the name of political correctness anyway. I'd much rather see less of that sort of thing, not more of it.

[KillerKat]

Get over what?

I don't care one way or another, but I am willing to at least THINK that perhaps pissing off 9% of an already abused people group is worth considering ditching something as insignificant as a sports team name.

Because that, to me, is more important than some manufactured "history" of a football franchise. The proud tradition of pretending to be Indians and capering Chief Wahoos and getting drunk with "Redskin" written on our jerseys. lol

Because the history of the treatment of Native Americans is sickening, if you care to look at it.

Maybe some people should "get over" insensitivity and desperate clinging to the tradition of not giving a sh*t about people that look different than them. Even if it is only 9% of the group in question, because I'm sure their opinion of "It offends me" is less important than the 91% that say they don't care.

You're not going to get 100% to agree on ANYTHING. If you're worried about trying to make everyone happy, that will never happen. Like Scott said, if we change everything that offends a very small percentage of people, we would lose a lot. This isn't about "not giving a sh*t" that you make it out to be. AK pointed out the origins of the name and almost all Natives have no problem with it. End of convo.

[mantal]

I think they should change the name to the Korean's...

I just don't believe in all this political correctness stuff. I don't think an Indian name is necessarily denigrating a population, but instead possibly dignifying it? I mean, do they really just want to be forgotten completely?. And yes, I'm 1/4 Cherokee...

[Liminy]

Maybe some people should "get over" insensitivity and desperate clinging to the tradition of not giving a sh*t about people that look different than them.

In reality, this is the problem. When I was a child, I didn't see anything wrong with the word redskin, now that I'm older, I still don't see a problem with it. When people bring up retarded things like changing a sports teams name because of a "derogatory" term it just breeds more racism. If people would shut the f*ck up and realize in a situation like this no one meant any harm then no one would probably care. It's different if people are getting tortured because of their race or beliefs, but it is a different thing to find anything and everything that could potentially be racism and demand a change. No race will ever feel completely satisfied. You can't give a race special attention because in turn the other races will feel less equal. It's an endless cycle.

[AKPantherFan]

Hm.

I'm pretty sure a Cowboy is ok with being called a Cowboy. A Patriot....not even sure if we can pin down who a Patriot is anymore. A Buccaneer? Eh. Other than Skew I'm not sure we have too many Pirates around. I'm sure a Texan is cool with being called a Texan.

As I stated above, you gonna call a native american a Redskin?

He/she might be ok with throwing that term around with others in the community, but is he/she ok with it in general usage?

Maybe.

And maybe most Native Americans are ok with the team having the name. But if 10% of them think it is offensive, is that enough?

What is the critical mass for change and forward thinking?

THEY ARE CALLED INDIANS

"American" was a TERM they were GIVEN after the white men showed the f*ck up...

if Anything they should be offended of THAT name, one that has NOTHING to do to with who THEY REALLY ARE.

hmmm... I wonder how many Indians are Redskins fans?

[Delhommey]

INDIANS! From the Indus Valley BISHES!

[Jangler]

THEY ARE CALLED INDIANS

"American" was a TERM they were GIVEN after the white men showed the f*ck up...

if Anything they should be offended of THAT name, one that has NOTHING to do to with who THEY REALLY ARE.

hmmm... I wonder how many Indians are Redskins fans?

Who are called Indians? Native Americans? They were called The People before Whitey got here. And this whole side of the world was named by the Spanish. So the white man had nothing to do with the name America. They were wrongly called Indians because they looked like the people from India. The whole debate is silly and if most Native Americans have no problem with the term "Redskins" then why should anybody else? To be honest I find "Indians" more disrespectful.

[KillerKat]

Actually, they prefer the name American Indian because they feel the name Native American was tagged on them by the government to describe prisoners. The word Indian comes from a spanish word meaning "in God".

[Delhommey]

In Dios? Who knew Spainglish started so early!!!

[Jangler]

Actually, they prefer the name American Indian because they feel the name Native American was tagged on them by the government to describe prisoners. The word Indian comes from a spanish word meaning "in God".

Not so sure about that.

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1966/does-indian-derive-from-columbuss-description-of-native-americans-as-una-gente-in-dios